“Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.” Unknown
I have been inundated recently with stories and personal experiences of airline stupidity. I’m finding it somewhat unsettling that an industry that is so low on the profitability and popularity pole continues to make decisions that almost defy imagination.
Recent headlines:
JetBlue now charging for pillows on flights
Delta raising baggage fees
UAL says pilots abuse sick leave to disrupt flights
Lufthansa cuts 10% of flights due to strike Which of course leads to the inevitable:
British Airways post 88 pct fall in Q1 pretax profits
I’ve had three calls in the last two days from friends whose opening dialog was about a horrible flight experience.
Thankfully I fly very seldom anymore but the two times I have flown in the past couple of months have been horrible. The attendants are surly, the flights are packed, and there’s no longer even an attempt to pretend to take off or land on time.
The funniest – in a sad way – thing that happened was when Northwest Airlines credited by frequent flyer account by 1000 miles because of the 6-hour delay coming back from Montreal. That was nice. The funny part is that they didn’t credit my account for the flights themselves. It was because the ticket was issued under by first name where my Worldperks account is listed under my middle name. Now, if it wasn’t for the fact that I have nearly 2 million miles on NWA and have often flown under tickets using my first name it wouldn’t be much of a debate point. But, given the years and mileage flown it’s safe to say they know me. When I wrote to complain I got a response that began with this: Please note that due to increased security in airports….” Yes, let’s hide behind National Security for our lack of customer service. Let’s hide behind our employees demanding we honor the contract we signed with them for our lack of business service. Let’s create tariffs and surcharges to hide behind our inability to run a profitable business.
The last time I looked commercial airlines had a primary business – moving people. Sure they’ve added package and postal sub-businesses, but moving bodies is somewhere in their mission statement. Today, they want to abuse their one primary customer and ignore their primary mission.
Does this make any sense? We just want to get from place to place with as few delays and irritations as possible.
I’m convinced this is a market absolutely ripe for the taking. The only carrier with a shroud of common sense continues to be Southwest Airlines who continues to do what they do best. Get you there and get you back. The 19 stops can be problematic but for short hauls they’re the best.
What is your company’s core business? Who is your primary customer? Are you making decisions on a daily basis around these? And if you’re not, why?
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